In the Oct. 14 SN: 2017’s scientists to watch, duel over a real-life Brienne of Tarth, the origin of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, long-lasting spheres of color, watermelon snow’s downside, support for the Unruh effect, polite robots and more.

Genes & Cells

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SHAPE SHIFTER Candida tropicalis usually grows as a harmless roundish budding yeast (green), but in the presence of two bacteria it stretches into long filaments (brown) that may provoke inflammation in intestines.

Djspring/wikimedia commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

DANGER DETECTOR In planarians (Schmidtea mediterranea shown), a protein called TRPA1 detects hydrogen peroxide, a molecule produced when cells are damaged. These new results give hints about the evolution of human pain.

Chris Petersen/Northwestern University

ANCIENT TRAITS Some people may have inherited a tendency to sunburn from Neandertals, a new study finds.